HOISINGTON —In keeping with a centuries-old tradition, the Masons of Kansas will rededicate the Hoisington Lodge No. 331 building in an ancient ceremony at 2 p.m. on Oct. 24, at 351 W. 2nd St.

The current lodge building was originally dedicated on June 18, 1960. The head of Kansas Masons, Grand Master Kent Needham of Great Bend, and officers from around the state will take part in the ceremony, which dates to several hundred years ago. George Washington, a Mason, laid the cornerstone of the nation’s capitol in 1793 while dressed in Masonic regalia and serving as President.

Masons dedicate Lodges, public buildings and buildings dedicated to religion, education, civic service or philanthropy. On average, about ten of these dedication ceremonies are conducted by the Masons in the state each year.

Also on the agenda will be 25, 50, and 60 year pin presentations from Great Bend and Hoisington Lodges. Widows’ pins will also be awarded.

Hoisington Masonic Lodge meets the third Thursday of the month with supper at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting at 7:30 p.m. It was chartered on June 7, 1889, and has 82 members. There are more than 23,000 members in about 242 communities in the state. Freemasonry has nearly two million members in the U.S. Masonic Lodges across Kansas support local youth and community projects and humanitarian efforts including a statewide child identification program.

In 2011, Hoisington Lodge will provide college and band camp scholarships for area high school students.

Freemasonry, a benevolent, educational and charitable organization, provides more than $2 million a day in charity through its lodges and appendant bodies. Masonry, the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world, is based on the lessons of living a life of brotherhood and high moral standards as portrayed symbolically in the work of stone masons who built the cathedrals, abbeys and castles of Europe.